For a California girl born to a family of educators, politics was a curiosity, a hobby—nothing more. But after writing a letter to President Reagan after he left office, Peggy Grande ended up interning with him in Los Angeles. Over the next 27 years, Peggy became a confidante to the Reagans, working as their executive assistant and having a front row seat to history. She tells the story in her memoir, The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Ronald Reagan’s Final Years.
Every day was different. Some days, the banality of office life took over: she had to make copies, she planned travel arrangements. Then, suddenly, she would be reminded who she worked for: visit from diplomats and world leaders, riding in the back of secret service motorcade, having a former president rely on you. This was not an ordinary job. Sometimes, Peggy recalls, “I would turn and look at the man sitting next to me and think, how does a girl like me wind up in a place like this?”
“At the end of the day, whether you’re president of the United States or president of a company, it really all comes down to relationships. And he modeled that.”
One of Peggy’s greatest memories of Reagan is his renowned patriotism and his ability to reach across the aisle. Peggy recalls many political opponents coming to visit Reagan, but they were never able to resist his benevolence. Reagan was a charismatic leader, a man who believed that diplomacy wasn’t just for world leaders, a man who showed Peggy that leaders can be both strong and kind.
Part of being a strong leader is being direct and not hiding the truth behind closed doors. At that time, memory care diseases were stigmatized and kept hidden. When the president developed Alzheimer’s, the Reagans came out publicly and shared the news with the American people, which sparked a de-stigmatization and more research into dementia and Alzheimer’s.
15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
